Will Rabbits Eat Cantaloupe?

They’re cute and cuddly, but rabbits are a major nuisance for home gardeners. Rabbits eat a variety of plants, including cantaloupe (Cucumis melo), which is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 11. Rabbits are difficult to eradicate from your landscape because even if you remove one, more tend to follow. However, you can prevent them from damaging your cantaloupe and other plants.

Rabbit Damage

Rabbits love garden plants and vegetables. Cantaloupe fruit is one of the foods they will eat as pets, and that means you might find wild rabbits have been gnawing at the cantaloupe plants in your garden. Look for clean-cut damage on the leaves and stems, too. You can distinguish rabbit feeding from other pests, such as insects, by the tidiness of the damage. Other pests tend to leave jagged edges on stems and leaves. Rabbits also feed close to the ground because they prefer the tender young shoots of your plants.

Protecting Your Cantaloupe

Protect your cantaloupe and other plants from rabbit damage by preventing these hopping pests from accessing your garden. Install a 3/4-inch wire mesh fence around the perimeter of your garden. The fence should be at least 24 to 30 inches high because most rabbits won’t jump a fence at this height. Choose a 48-inch-tall wire and bend the bottom 6 inches or more outward. Bury the fence at least 6 to 10 inches into the soil. Bending the bottom edge and burying it deep prevents rabbits from digging beneath your fence.